Maple Glazed Turkey

Maple Glazed Turkey

This is the best turkey recipe I've ever tried! It came from a combination of a variety of recies I found out there, with tweaks to make it my own. After trying it the first time, I'll never make turkey another way again.

It's funny though, when people first see it... bacon on a turkey? lol. I know. But it works! And if you use the strained dripping from the pan for your gravy, it will have that hint of maple and bacon too! You cannot go wrong!

While a lot of people will use a thawed turkey and stuff it themselves, I really do prefer the frozen pre-stuffed Butterball turkeys whenever I do mine. The stuffing is perfect every time, and this recipe makes the turkey meat just succulent. However, if you have a fantastic turkey with stuffing already, just add in some of the flavours from here – I doubt you can go wrong!

Remember to check the manufacturer’s label for weight to cooking times.

Oh, another thing... I strongly recommend the Rival Turkey Roasting Oven for this one. It is a great counter top roaster and as you can see, still browns the turkey amazing. Since getting mine a couple of years back, my ovens are now free for potatoes, squash, pies, etc... and I don't burn the back of my hand basting anymore! ha!

Instructions

Preheat the oven to temperature indicated by the manufacturer’s label; I used 325 degrees F

In the bottom of the roaster, pour chicken stock and onion; place a lifting tray in the bottom of the pan. Depending on your lifting tray, the turkey may not even touch the liquid, but this is fine – it will still be moist

In a separate bowl, combine the butter and sage and season with salt and pepper; rub as best you can the top of the turkey with a piece of the sage butter. You will continue to do this throughout the cooking process. Note – Butterball recommends rubbing oil over the turkey, but I omit this in place of sage butter

Cover the stuffing part – including the legs and the neck part where the stuffing is visible under the skin with foil wrap

In a second bowl, mix together the maple syrup and water

Roast your turkey; every 30 minutes, brush with small amounts of the maple syrup all over, and then dollop a small piece of sage butter on the top of the turkey so it melts and drizzles over. Continue doing this up to two hours before the turkey is finished.

When there are only two hours left, cover the entire turkey with strips of bacon, and roast until the internal temperature is 180 degrees

Transfer the turkey to a large cutting board or serving platter and let rest for 20 minutes before carving so the juices can settle back into the meat. I literally found it easier too just tear the meat apart with my hands as it was so soft and juicy!